Henrik Zetterberg Expects to Be Healthy to Start Season

Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg bowed out of the 2016 World Cup (after he was named captain of Sweden) saying that he didn’t believe he was healthy enough to go 100 percent during the tournament.

Zetterberg is nursing an offseason knee injury, but the Red Wings announced Monday that they expect him to be 100 percent by the season opener, even if they aren’t sure if he’ll be available for training camp at this point.

Henrik Zetterberg says he expects to be 100% by the season opener. #RedWings

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 12, 2016

The decision to miss the World Cup had to be tough for Zetterberg, as it could be his last shot at international play.

Additionally, Zetterberg spoke with the media Monday and Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that Zetterberg has struggled with stamina toward the end of the regular season in recent years. He is working on ways to keep himself fresh for that final run through the postseason.

“Find different ways to be fresh,” Zetterberg said. “That’s what’s gotten me the last two years, I ran out of gas. You can’t play hockey in this level when you run out of gas. So that’s one thing we’re going to play around with.”

He continued: “If you’re a winger, you don’t work as much in your own end as if you’re a centerman. We’ll see how much winger and how much center I will play. The workload would probably be a little bit less if I’m a winger.” He also discussed the possibility of simply playing fewer minutes as young players like Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou exhibit play that demands more ice time.